Ten year old Jose Cruz of Mount Clemens digs into a good read at the Clinton-Macomb Library main branch Friday. (The Macomb Daily/DAVID DALTON)

The 2014 Olympic Winter Games are less than a month away. That’s got children all over the world reading about everything from Sochi, Russia – host country of this year’s games – to bobsledding and the luge. Tapping into the excitement Scholastic is calling young readers along with their teachers and families to pledge January as “Get Book Fit” Month.

To help implement the campaign Scholastic has created a free Facebook calendar app that lets users “scratch off” tips from experts on how to motivate kids to keep their brains active throughout the month. The tips include access to free eBooks.

“Just as any athlete needs to practice a sport in order to get better, kids need to practice reading to keep their brains sharp and become proficient readers,” said Maggie McGuire, vice president, Scholastic Kids and Parents Channels. “The new year reminds us to start new, healthy habits and getting ‘Book Fit’ is a perfect way to remind children that reading is part of a healthy lifestyle.”’

Lisa Mulvenna, Head of Youth Services for Clinton-Macomb Public Library agrees.

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“Definitely,” said Mulvenna. “Reading practice is the single most important factor to having good readers in the future. Since so many things in school and in life are tied into reading, this is something that everybody should be doing.”

Mulvenna said what’s also important for kids is to see their role models (be it Olympians, parents or teachers) reading. “This can be anything from books to magazines to shopping lists,” Mulvenna said. “If they see others reading, they will want to do it themselves. This will give children the motivation to want to learn to read or to read better.” As part of Scholastic’s “Get Book Fit” program top athletes including Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi, Amar’e Stoudemire from the New York Knicks and Justin Tuck from the New York Giants will share the books that inspired them most.

By “liking” Scholastic’s interactive “Get Book Fit” calendar at Facebook.com/scholastic and by following the latest Tweets at #BookFit on Twitter (@Scholastic) readers of all ages can join the campaign. Throughout January the interactive calendar will feature a variety of resources – including book recommendations and tips from experts at Scholastic, articles from the publisher’s Parent and Child magazine. “Spotlight Sundays” will highlight must-reads for every age group from Scholastic Reading Club and on “Freebie Fridays” fans can enter for the chance to win free new book releases from Scholastic.

“It’s a great idea,” said Mulvenna. “I have already popped it up on Twitter.”

And for those kids who got ereaders from Santa Claus? Among the resources featured on the “Get Book Fit” Facebook page are ebook picks from Storia, Scholastic’s free ereading app. The app gives children 5 free eBooks. If they want more to read Mulvenna said CMPL offers two free ebook services called Overdrive and 3M to residents of Clinton and Macomb Townships at: cmpl.org/WeRecommend/DigitalDownloads.asp. Residents in other counties should check with their local library for similar services. Additionally, libraries subscribe to Zinnio, which gives patrons access to 90-plus magazines that they can read online or on a tablet.

As for books kids might want to read about Olympic athletes?

“If I were going by popularity, ice skating is our most popular Olympic sport,” Mulvenna said. So, based on that she would recommend “Fire on Ice: Autobiography of a Champion Figure Skater” by Sasha Cohen or “Michelle Kwan: Champion on Ice” by Kimberly Gatto. “If it were Lisa the librarian picking out titles to highlight then I would pull famous people from Olympic history including, ‘Champion: The Story of Muhammad Ali” by James Haskins or ‘Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman’ by Kathleen Krull,” said Lisa the librarian.

Top 10 ways to get ‘Book Fit’

To help parents in their role as reading coaches Scholastic’s experts curated a list of tips to inspire young readers:

1. Make your home a reading nook. “Make reading material available in the rooms at home where your kids spend most of their time, easily accessible on tabletops, in bins or on bookshelves,” said Scholastic’s experts. “Include magazines, newspapers, comic books, how-to Reading material should be available in our home should inspire reading material that will tap into your child’s interests and passions.”

2. Host your own reading Olympics. In celebration of the upcoming Winter Games sweeten the experience by rewarding a child’s reading efforts with a gold, silver or bronze medal based on how much he or she read that week. Perhaps even setting a goal for so many books before the opening of the Olympics.

3. Make the library your athletic stadium. Make a trip to the library once a week part of your reading workout. Since kids love games Scholastic experts suggest making the search for new books a game such as “library bingo, where kids can actively search the library for specific genres, characters, etc. during their visit.”

4. Make reading part of family game nights. Scholastic experts recommend selecting games that encourage critical thinking, spelling and language-building (such as Scrabble Flash). Try to pick something different over the course of the year and let the kids be involved in choosing what games to play – as well as the healthy snacks to be served while playing.

5. Bring the books to life. If your child is reading about hockey or snowboarding introduce them to the sport firsthand. Reading about cooking? Pull out the recipe books and help them bake their own cake. Scholastic experts encourage parents to challenge their children to try different experiences.

6. Find a favorite author. Help children research authors to find a writer that they enjoy and then challenge them to read several titles by one author.

7. Practice, practice, practice. Set aside time during the day when children know you or they will be reading. This could be before bedtime, a bath, after dinner, anytime and without restrictions. Read aloud to your child or let them read to you. Reading aloud helps children build their vocabularies and inspire a lifetime love of reading.

8. Form your own reading club. Invite family members, friends and even neighbors to form a book club that meets once a month or whenever it’s convenient. Meeting collectively to discuss a book encourages members to think critically about what they read and to help bring ideas for the next month’s book. Check with your local library as they often have book clubs geared to a specific age or genre of books.

9. Host a book-swap party. Help your child collect all of the books they’ve read and do not wish to keep and have his or her friends do the same. With parents’ permission, host a book-swap party at your house. You might even want to send out invitations via Facebook or in person. Scholastic experts suggest picking a theme such as “Fantasy Swap” or “Laugh Out Loud Funny Reads,” to make it fun and help children find a focus regarding what books to swap.

10. Travel to book events. There’s nothing like an author visit to encourage a child not only to read but maybe even write a story themselves.